The Qinghai-Tibet Railway will promote the preservation and development of the Tibetan culture to cater to an influx of tourists looking for unique cultural experiences, a noted scholar on Tibetan studies said on Monday.

"The Qinghai-Tibet Railway enables a beneficial interaction between the Tibet's culture and other cultures," said Lhamo Puncog, vice president with the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, in advance of a Tibetan culture forum which is slated for Oct. 10 and 11.

As most tourists to Tibet are interested in the sites and unique ethnic and cultural spectacles, local government and citizens are being encouraged to further develop their culture, Lhamo Puncog explained.

As well, local citizen will have easy access to information and cultures from the outside world with the development of tourism.

Opened on July 1, the 1,956-km-long Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the first to reach China's interior from the Tibet Autonomous Region. It travels a route through spectacular mountain ranges that averages more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

The Tibet Autonomous Region has received more than 913,000 tourists from home and abroad between July 1 and Aug. 31, up 54 percent year-on-year. Tourism has raked in over 940 million yuan (US$117.5 million) during the period, an increase of 48.6 percent year-on-year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2006)